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The Gypsy and the Vampire 2
The Gypsy and the Vampire 2 is an encounter in Dark Dynasty Enemies * Ancient Wraith (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 7 HP) * Malevolent Wraith (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 7 HP) Transcript Introduction He was in the stables when Katrina returned, standing in the darkness where she'd left him -- with the same mournfulness on his pale, handsome visage. It was as though he'd remained there for the entire fortnight, awaiting her. She didn't know if that absurd notion pleased or enraged her. "I'm sorry, Katrina." "Shut up, dinilo." She dismounted, and looked around for an empty stall. The vampiress was angry, but Nighthunter had served well. The mare deserved her rest. Heinrich whistled, and the horse trotted over ti him. He unlatched a stall door. She went inside without being urged. "I'm glad you returned," he said. He was facing Nighthunter, and he stroked the mare's check as he spoke. "They ver shocked," Katrina said. "Fearful. But in time they vill.." "Perhaps," Heinrich said. Her eyes narrowed. "I'm a cild of the Balval Churi. My place... I belong..." She cursed as her eyes began to sting, and turned aside. Then she felt his hands on her arms. Katrina tried to pull away, but his grip was somehow both gentle and unbreakable. She glared up into his face. "You'rea von Malhaven, Katrina." Her laughter was bitter, but not mirthless. "I have gypsy blood in my veins. I'm no noblevoman." "Not just gypsy blood..." Images of the fighting before the bone walls flashed across her vision. She felt the fangs slipping into her neck, bringing with it a dreamlike haze. And then... Yes. Half-forgotten sensations. The taste of something sweet and rich and strong and ancient. "I shared the crimson kiss," he continued. "To make me a concubine..." The words were hollow, insincere. She knew them for childish petulance even as she spoke them. And yet she continued, clinging to bitterness lest she have to accept something else in its steed. "Like those half-dresse whores who vander the castle." "No. I'm the son of Gretchen von Malhaven. If I wish to share our name, to invoke that privilege for the first time in all my centuries, even the markgraf will give his consent. No one will question your right to bear it." "Vhen my clan calls for me..." "Then you may do as you wish. But until then..." He took her arm and led her out of the stables. They crossed the grounds together, towards the great dark shape of the castle. *** You pause in front of the secret door, a portal so artfully concealed in the wall that without Katrina's instructions you would likely have spent many minutes of intense searching to locate it. The others look to one another, and to you -- the same unspoken question written on each face. She warned you to wait for her signal before leaving the passage, promising a loud distrubance that would help you move undetected. "Wait," Tessa says. "Katrina won't let us down." "She's done a blood good job of it so far. First she nearly got us eaten by zombies, then she didn't warn us about those sodding bone walls. And-" The crash of thunder interrupts him, filling the world with its cacophonous boom. It's followed by an insistent, sustained plinking that can only come from rain lashing against the castle's walls and windows. Another booming peal follows. "That's impossible!" Rakshara says. "She can't have conjured up a storm... Can she?" You shrugh your shoulders. Many things are possible through the arcane. But a true altering of the weather, not merely a single lightning bolt or thunderclap... If Katrina von Malhaven wrought such a thing, you shudder to think of the power she must possess or else the price she's paid. It isn't the time for such contemplations, however. The tug of a torch sconce, combined with pressure on certain stone in the wall, causes the concealed door to swing open. It reveals a large hall, lined on the right by lfoty windows, their panes dripping with spent rain ever as fresh volleys strike against them. Lightning flashes, throwing its luminescence into the castle -- illuminating flitting shapes in dark flowing cloaks. One of the wraiths turns towards you. The red orbs in its fleshless eye sockets flare, twin crimson explosions. It stabs a skeletal finger in your direction. Its mandible drops open as though to cry out. But another crash of thunder steals its voice. Brilliant silver fingers flash into the hall once more. Tessa fires at the same moment. Her arrow shatters the wraith's skull, raining shardds of bone upon the thick carpet. Lightning... Even you didn't know it rendered a wraith corporeal. The creature's destruction serves as the warning its tongue was denied. The other wraiths whirl round, their phantasmal cloaks billowing. Conclusion Torrents of rain waging war on stone and glass, as though trying to storm the castle and join the fight. Lightning searing its edicts across the floor, lending its brilliance to the battle. Thunder, crashing and booming in applause or dismay. All these things serve to turn the combat into something both sinister and grandiose. Your blade provides the finishing touch to the symphony and drama. Lightning paints the steel as it penetrates the wraith's sternum, shattering its ribcage, and ploughs through the spine beyond. The lights disappear in its skull, consumed by blackness, and bones strew themselves across the floor. One of the phantoms flies across the hall, its cloak fluttering behind in. Perhaps it's fleeing to raise the alarm, or maybe it only cares about escaping and prolonging its undead existence. It doesn't matter. Tessa Tullian fires, and Brachus casts. Her arrow shines silver and gold as it spins, sheathed in sorcery. It pierces the back of the wraith's hood, and smashes its skull. The storm rages on, its fury undiminished. You proceed deeper into the castle, letting its wrath envelop you. Category: Dark Dynasty